Two separate systems shape the week, with a light Sunday refresh followed by a better Wednesday-Thursday storm that favors the higher Oregon Cascades. Baker, Stevens, Snoqualmie, and Crystal should pick up a modest refresh today and tonight, Monday and Tuesday then turn colder and mostly dry, and the next round brings the best shot at meaningful soft snow from Wednesday into early Friday. The biggest totals in the most reliable part of the forecast look centered on Timberline and Mt. Bachelor at 12″-20″, with Mt. Baker and Stevens next in line. After Friday, the pattern trends drier and milder into the weekend, with only an uncertain chance of a light northern brush early next week.
Through Sunday night, the guidance is tightly clustered on a weak front crossing the range this afternoon and evening, along with steadily falling snow levels behind it. Snow levels run roughly 2,500 to 3,500 feet in Washington and British Columbia and closer to 4,000 to 6,000 feet in Oregon before dropping overnight, so the better initial refresh stays north and at higher elevations. That supports about 3″-5″ around Mt. Baker, Stevens, Snoqualmie, and Crystal, around 2″-3″ at Timberline, and little for Mt. Bachelor. Snow quality is generally moderate to fairly light with SLRs near 10-18 in the colder northern areas, but denser at Snoqualmie and Timberline where ratios spend more time around 7-13. Exposed ridges in Oregon look windy enough for occasional operational impacts, with gusts pushing 45-60 mph.
Monday and Tuesday look like the cleanest stretch of the forecast, and the guidance is well converged on a dry break, cold mornings, and decent spring skiing between storms. Resort temperatures drop into the teens and 20s Monday night and Tuesday morning, then rebound into the 30s and lower 40s during the day, so expect firm starts before surfaces soften where sunshine breaks out. Attention then shifts to Wednesday into early Friday, when the guidance again agrees on timing and broader storm structure but shows more spread on intensity and how marginal snow levels get at the lower Washington passes. Snow redevelops Wednesday morning, peaks Wednesday afternoon into Thursday, and brings around 10″-14″ to Mt. Baker, 8″-12″ to Stevens, 7″-10″ to Snoqualmie, and 12″-20″ to Timberline and Mt. Bachelor…